Canvas Art Prints History

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Canvas Art Prints History

Looking back at the history of painting it all began on the only canvas man had - the caves in which they lived. Even early man appreciated the value of artwork to tell stories and it embedded itself in human culture. By the 13th century it was common for artists to paint with oils onto wooden panels. Initially this work was installed in churches and mosques but as it became more widespread people began having pieces commissioned for their homes.

Wood panels however were unwieldy, making them difficult and more expensive to transport. This lead to artists looking for viable alternatives, Venetian painters were amongst those driving the transition; sail canvas from Venice was widely obtainable and proved a great material for painting. One of the earliest documented paintings on canvas is a French Madonna from approximately 1410. Yet, panel artwork stayed more widespread till the 17th century in North Europe.

In order to prepare canvas for painting or printing it is stretched over a wood frame. Early canvas was also made from linen, which was actually brownish material of considerable strength. Linen was more commonly used for oil painting as the material was often too course for finer works. By the start of the 20th century and the industrial revolution mass-manufactured cotton canvas came into common usage. Although the new cotton canvas was cheaper and widely available the sturdier linen fabrics remain in use for those passionate about traditional oil painting techniques.

Modern day painters are spoilt for choice - pre-prepared canvases are used by everyone but the most demanding specialists. They are presented in a mixture of weights and the canvas is primed to prevent the oil or paint being absorbed into the material. With a suitably primed canvas, the artist will discover that every successive layer of colour goes on in a smooth way, and that with the correct thickness of implementation (fat over lean practice), a piece of art completely without brush marks can be attained. A lukewarm iron is employed on top of a section of damp cotton to even out the wrinkles.

With the advent of home computers and printing technology in the 21st century a new wave of canvas pictures came about - digital canvas prints. This progression of digital inkjet reproduction is generally mentioned as "giclée" - taken from the French "to spray". Unlike traditional methods, the canvas is printed with the image before being wrapped round a stretcher frame. Creating a print this way means that the final print is easy to assemble and customizable to meet the demands of modern consumers.

Pictures of original artwork have been replicated on canvas for countless years, in the 1990s home printers using dye sublimination became available. This process involves printing onto paper or canvas using heat to transfer the image and had the benefit of sealing the print as it was made. Inkjet print techniques were also developed and soon became the mainstay as the printers were cheaper to make and easier to maintain.

Now professional inkjet printers like the HP Designjet z6100 along with the Epson Stylus Pro 9880 can produce prints on rolls of canvas of 60 inches wide or more. With efficient, affordable technology in place it is now possible to have virtually anything printed on canvas. This advance has been helped by the universal progress of and improved access to computers graphics editing tools like photoshop.

The advantages of the modern giclée procedure above conventional processes are primarily lower set-up cost, which suddenly made it possible to make your own prints at home. This empowered painters and photographers to make canvas art prints of their artwork to sell. Web based galleries could suddenly produce huge amounts of canvas art on-demand to suit the customer.

At Canvas Art Print we follow strict guidelines to ensure top quality wall art from printing to packing. Firstly the image is printed and checked for a precise colour match. The canvas is then cut to size and stretched over a frame to the required size. Our canvas prints are made so that the image continues around the sides of a frame when gallery-wrapped is known as full-bleed. This is often utilized to improve the 3d result of the finished canvas print.